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Mailbag: May 2, 2010
This week in the mailbag:
Form Over Function
Windows 7 De-Activation?
Office 2010 32-Bit vs. 64-Bit
Thinking Outside the Box with the Problem Steps Recorder
Is Windows Safer Than Linux or Mac OS X?
Have a question? I can't guarantee an answer, but I'll try. Drop me a note! (And let me know if you'd prefer not to have your name published.)
Form Over Function
In a blog post criticizing Microsoft for standing still on PR and letting Apple and Google dominate the tech news, I mentioned the following:
And if you're looking to copy Apple's success--and you are--then at least do it right. It's not about the products at all. What Apple does right is marketing. It's form over function, plain and simple. How else could the world be so excited over an unnecessary over-sized iPod touch? Because it's from Apple, that's how. And the press markets it for them, and makes people believe that this is somehow a big deal. It's a self-replicating back-patting, buddy system, plain and simple.
Naturally, since this seems like a criticism of Apple, people responded negatively. But as I explained in the comments section:
The iPad is not "amazing." It's just marketed very well, both by Apple and its culpable partners in mainstream media. The iPad is "decent" or "good." This is what I mean by "form over function." It's not that they aren't good products, its that style/marketing/fluff always comes first.
End of story, right? Not exactly. Seeing this slight against Apple, Bryan S. wrote the following via email:
If the sentence below (from your recent blog post) is seriously the advice you would give to Microsoft regarding how to match Apple's success, you must really hate the Redmond:
"It's not about the products at all. What Apple does right is marketing. It's form over function, plain and simple."
That's just catastrophically wrong. You might as well claim vaccines cause autism while you're at it. The iPhone and iPod didn't turn industries upside down because Apple ran commercials; they succeeded because they were far, far better than competing products. If you believe these things were just marketing hype and excessive "fanboy-ism", you're naive.
And Apple would love nothing more than for Microsoft to take advice from naive pundits.
I can't stand the lack of thinking here. This is typical of the "discussion" on Mac advocacy sites and is the attitude of the Apple-focused people who used to camp out in my blog comments section before I started moderating it. Thus, my reaction is a bit harsh. But these bullies need to understand that others can think for themselves. And that we are not all card-carrying lemmings in the Apple army, sorry.
My response:
You misunderstand. Apple is very much about form over function. But this doesn't equate to "form, not function." It's form first, then function. That is indeed Apple's MO, and all you have to do is watch any Apple keynote video to see the product unveilings, the endless slides of different product views, and the coy "we made an advertisement, would you like to see it?" bits to understand exactly where it is that the company is coming from. Apple is all about marketing and image.
That said, their products are generally excellent, and well-made. I've never claimed otherwise.
Naive? I disagree, but there's also a word for people who routinely don't understand the world around them and yet feel the need to broadcast it: "ignorant." And while it seems like an ugly word, it's actually just an apt description of those who can't see beyond what huge corporations want them to see and then feel the need to parrot it to others. In this blog post you're citing, I'm criticizing Microsoft, not Apple. Think about it.
My point is, it's OK to be excited about technology, and it's OK to criticize products and companies too. But people who feel the need to constantly berate others who disagree with their insular world views are not good people, sorry. One of the routine criticisms I get from the Apple camp is, well, it is the SuperSite for WINDOWS after all. I mean, how could this clown possibly be non-biased?
Hm. As I see it, my audience is the 96 percent of the world's population (and 93 percent of the US population, according to NPD) that uses Windows, or as we might think of this statistically, "everyone." I don't serve Microsoft, or any other huge corporation. I write for people. Many of them are tech enthusiasts, yes, and smart people have strong opinions. But one of those adult moments you can have is to simply agree to disagree.
I write about Apple because it matters. And in some cases--the iPod and iPhone--their products aren't just great, they're also very popular. Thus they hit that same mass-media audience I'm referencing above. That the vast majority of iPod and iPhone users do so with Windows, not the Mac, is a fact that is also lost on these Apple guys. And while it's amusing to see all the www.mac[whatever].com sites cover iPod and iPhone stuff, when you think about it, it makes more sense for the Windows guys to cover these products. After all, that's our audience, not theirs, and unlike the Mac guys, I and others like me are more familiar with Windows and can thus help actual people trying to figure out why Apple engineers these products in such a way that they actually work better with a minority computer system they don't own.
Sorry, that's just the way it is.
Windows 7 De-Activation?
Derek N. touches on a fairly common question:
Is there any way of moving Windows activation data from one PC to another? If you?ve ever purchased and activated Adobe Acrobat (not the Reader) you?ll see if you went to uninstall it, it would offer to remove the activation data from the PC that you?re on in order to port it to another one at a later date. This strikes me as a useful feature.
There's no way to explicitly "de-activate" a Windows 7 install, but Microsoft does support this. If you purchased a retail version of Windows 7 only, you can reinstall it on a second PC. Try to activate normally, and if/when it fails, you will need to do a manual activation (phone-based). Explain to the person that you are moving the license to a new PC and are (or already have) wiped out the first one. They will provide you with an activation code and that product key will move to the new PC, allowing for future electronic activations.
I agree that they should do this like Adobe does, though the sheer volume of Windows installs probably plays a role in why they do not.
Office 2010 32-Bit vs. 64-Bit
Yoram S. was downloading Office 2010 from TechNet Plus and noticed the following note:
Microsoft strongly recommends the use of 32-bit (x86) versions of Office 2010, Project 2010, and Visio 2010 applications as the default option for all platforms.
His question, then, is simple:
Why would Microsoft recommend 32-bit applications for a 64-bit platforms?
Unless you have fairly dramatic spreadsheet needs, there is almost no reason to choose a 64-bit version of Office 2010. In fact, if you use Outlook, I don't recommend it at all: The 64-bit version of Outlook is not compatible with any existing Outlook add-ons. This could be an issue for other apps in the 64-bit version of the suite as well, though I'm not clear on what that market is like.
I'll be writing a bit about this in Part 2 of my Office 2010 review, which should be available by the time you read this.
Thinking Outside the Box with the Problem Steps Recorder
A few weeks ago, I mentioned the Problem Steps Recorder as my Windows 7 Feature of the Week on the Windows Weekly podcast. (And you can read my complete write-up about this feature here.) Robert W. writes in with a tip about using this interesting new feature in a decidedly different way:
Just a thought, when listening to your podcast # 151 you talked about Problem Steps Recorder. I thought of another use for it. Say you have someone that you help out with their computer stuff, say a parent. And they are constantly asking how to do a task on the computer. You could record the process and send it to them so that the next time they want to do that task they just have to look at the recording. Just a thought.
That's fantastic, and a great idea. Thanks!
Is Windows Safer Than Linux or Mac OS X?
There's this recurring theme about Windows security and how it relates to security on competing platforms like Linux and Mac OS X, and it came up again in the past week in two different ways. First, eEye Digital Security co-founder Marc Maiffret was interviewed and discussed (correctly) how Microsoft does a much better job with security than does, say, Apple or Adobe. And then a ZD blogger, Jason Perlow, announced his "inevitable" switch to Linux ... because of Windows malware. These are both interesting issues, in and of themselves. But neither addresses the central question: Is Windows more or less secure than its competitors?
First, let's look at Marc Maiffret's comments.
When you look at Microsoft today they do more to secure their software than anyone. They're the model for how to do it. They're not perfect; there's room for improvement. But they are definitely doing more than anybody else in the industry, I would say.
From an internal process in how they go about auditing their code and securing software from a technical perspective, they have one of the best models. The area they still have room for improvement is around time lines of how long it takes for them to fix things. We see time and time again when somebody responsibly reports a security problem to Microsoft it takes many, many months, if not upwards of a year, to get these things resolved. Should there be some new zero day critical emergency, we see they are able to get something out within a couple of weeks. You look at companies like Adobe and they are where Microsoft was 10 years ago.
Adobe, and even Apple, is a good example. They are starting to get black eyes with people saying Adobe is a bigger worry than Microsoft is at the moment, which I agree with. As those things are happening, Adobe and Apple and other companies are starting to pay attention and care more. But a year ago, it was still very much a marketing thing. People from both companies treated it as a marketing problem. They didn't have good technical structures behind the scenes. Now they are staffing up and hiring industry notables like Window Snyder [ex-Microsoft security employee recently hired by Apple]. They've really only begun in the last six months or so taking security seriously and understanding that it impacts their business in a serious way.
It's even a little scarier with Apple because they try to market themselves as more secure than the PC, that you don't have to worry about viruses, etc. Anytime there's been a hacking contest, within a few hours someone's found a new Apple vulnerability. If they were taking it seriously, they wouldn't claim to be more secure than Microsoft because they are very much not. And the Apple community is pretty ignorant to the risks that are out there as it relates to Apple. The reason we don't see more attacks out there compared to Microsoft is because their market share isn't near what Microsoft's is.
To be clear, the guy knows what he's talking about, and he's right: No other company--not Adobe, and certainly not Apple--has an infrastructure like Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Initiative in place. But that doesn't mean Windows (a Microsoft product) is somehow more secure than the competition. It just means that Microsoft responds to security threats in a better fashion that does the competition. And they do.
For exhibit two, we present poor Jason Perlow. In a blog post this week, he writes:
It was simply a matter of time before Linux became my primary operating system. My most recent malware incident was the final straw that sent me into the safe haven of Ubuntu.
My FaceBook account was somehow compromised, causing untold amounts of my friends to receive a spammed invite to some sort of diet seminar scam event and then having to endure the embarrassment that accompanied it.
Then I proceeded to sweep malware from my various Windows systems in my house ? my primary Windows 7 testing workstation, my wife?s Windows 7 office PC, my Windows XP virtual machines, and our shared recreational Windows 7 laptop.
Using Windows and Microsoft software is something I cannot get away from. I still need to use Office and any number of Windows programs in my personal and professional life. However, I?m no longer willing to babysit all my my systems due to the constant threat of malware.
For those Windows things I still absolutely need that Linux doesn?t do, I use VirtualBox and Windows XP running in a virtual machine.
Now there's a solution for the mainstream public, eh?
When you read this post, and his endless descriptions of his computing setup, his hardware and software environments, and so on, the disease this guy has is clearly revealed: He's an overly technical guy with way too much time on his hands who overthinks everything. On the good news front, he doesn't write for a mainstream publication, he writes a tech blog. So the impact here will be minimal. But his way of doing things is wrong, and it's certainly not something for others to duplicate. This is not good advice, not for the mainstream public, and not for anyone else for that matter.
But it does beg the question: Aside from Mr. Perlow's crazy overreaction, does this episode say anything at all about the security of Windows?
No, I don't think it does.
Every single one of my PCs, including those used by my wife and kids--none of whom are in any way technically sophisticated--is configured as it comes out of the box. All we've done is taken the very basic steps of using Microsoft Security Essentials and allowing Windows to install critical security patches as they come out. None of my PCs are ever compromised, and I regularly check my kids' PCs in particular to make sure that's always the case.
So does my own experience say anything at all about the security of Windows?
No, I don't think it does. It just suggests that I don't over-think things and my PCs just work. Cause and effect? Maybe. Maybe not.
So. You may or may not be wondering what I think about all this. Is Windows more or less secure than the competition?
I believe that Windows is technically less secure than the UNIX-based competition (Linux, Mac OS X). But I also believe that this is a subtle distinction at best and that human behavior plays a much bigger role in real-world security than do the technical differences between these systems. I believe that systems like Linux and Mac OS X are hacked less because they are used less, and that this plays a major role in how a user should approach security on the systems in question. That is, on Mac OS X, I'd never bother even installing anti-virus. But on Windows, you should. My experience suggests doing so--and having some common sense--is enough.
End of story.
More next week...


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Tesla battery factory plans on track but shares fall on outlook
Tesla Motors Inc , led by billionaire Elon Musk, on Wednesday offered an outlook for the second quarter that disappointed some investors, sending shares down 8 percent in after-hours trading.
Tesla posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter operating profit and said its operating automotive gross margins in the current quarter would increase slightly. S&P Capital IQ analyst Efraim Levy called the outlook a disappointment, saying investors had hoped for something better.
The Palo Alto, California-based company reported a first-quarter net loss of almost $50 million, compared with last year's first-ever quarterly profit.
Tesla said it would spend up to $850 million this year to boost production capacity of its Model S luxury electric sedan, develop the Model X crossover vehicle and start construction of a new lithium-ion battery plant, dubbed the "gigafactory." It said that would leave the company with a negative free cash flow for 2014.
Like other so-called momentum stocks, Tesla's shares have fallen recently and at the close of the market on Wednesday were down more than 20 percent from an all-time of $265 in mid-February. In after-hours activity, Tesla shares traded at $185.16, after closing at $201.35.
The company said the project to begin production of lithium-ion batteries at the plant is on course for 2017.
"We have not yet finalized the ultimate location for the gigafactory and we are going to start work on at least two locations in parallel in order to minimize risk of delays arising after groundbreaking," Musk said in a letter to shareholders posted online.
He also said discussions with battery supplier Panasonic Corp <6752.T> and other potential partners for the plant "continue to go well and we are pleased with the high interest level in the project." Analysts have said Tesla needs to get the plans for the plant finalized soon if it wants to meet its 2017 production target.
Excluding one-time items, Tesla earned $17 million, or 12 cents a share, in the quarter, two cents better than what analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had expected. The results included a currency gain of $6.7 million.
On a net basis, Tesla lost $49.8 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with a profit last year of $11.25 million, or 10 cents a share. Net revenue rose 10 percent from last year to almost $621 million, while operating revenue was up 27 percent at $713 million.
Tesla said it delivered 6,457 Model S cars in the first quarter, slightly above the 6,400 it had forecast in February. It also reiterated its full-year delivery target of more than 35,000 cars, including its forecast of about 7,500 cars in the second quarter.
Tesla also said battery cell supply will still constrain company vehicle production in the second quarter but that situation should improve in the third quarter.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and James Dalgleish)

subset: commoncrawl


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[Fran] shows us how to build a plastic friction welder. It's a method of connecting plastic pieces. While it's new to us, apparently this type of tool was given to kids about forty years ago to use with craft project (when plastic was all the craze).
The tip of the friction welder is a styrene rod. If it's spun fast enough the friction will cause the material to heat to the melting point, depositing a bead of styrene into the joint. The tool seen here is a cheap DC rotary tool acquired from Harbor Freight. It really did a horrible job, but [Fran] discovered that it was the power supply that was under-rated. When she replace the wire that feeds it and used her bench supply it spit out 16,000 rpm without any trouble. The welding rods can be found at the craft store and fit the chuck of the tool quite nicely. You can see her demo in the video after the break. The seam she's working on comes out very strong, surviving a slew of violent whacks on the workbench.
We've seen a few other methods of welding plastic. One used a tool much like a soldering iron, the other depends on ultrasonic waves and clamping pressure.


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DETROIT (AP) — Helen Wallbank Milliken, who was Michigan's longest-serving first lady and a staunch supporter of women's rights and environmental protection, has died. She was 89. Milliken, who spent 14 years as first lady, died on this morning at her family's home in Traverse City, her son, William "Bill" Milliken Jr., said. She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, he said, and was receiving hospice care.
Early in her husband's political career, Milliken dutifully played the role of an unassuming and supportive spouse. But she evolved into an outspoken advocate of issues close to her heart during her record 14 years as Michigan first lady.
She criticized highway billboards as unsightly clutter shortly after her husband, Republican William Milliken, became governor in 1969, drawing the wrath of the outdoor advertising industry. At her urging, her husband hiked the Pigeon River State Forest — after which he decided to limit oil and gas development in the scenic northern Michigan forest.
It was the couple's daughter Elaine, a lawyer and feminist, who died of cancer in 1993, who influenced her mother to take a stand for women's equality. Helen Milliken did so, vigorously campaigning for abortion rights and the ill-fated Equal Rights Amendment, which stated equality of rights "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
Even into her 80s, she remained active in community affairs and as an environmentalist. Milliken helped organize a foreign policy lecture series at Northwest Michigan College and took a course on the life of Mozart.
She told The Associated Press in 2006 about her concerns that many younger women were shying away from political activism and the "feminist" label. "They don't know their history," she said at the time. "Young women take so much for granted now." Feminism, she said, had "been redefined and misinterpreted" by conservatives as wild-eyed radicalism.
"Nobody ever saw anybody burn a bra; they're too expensive," she said. "But the myth has survived. There have been excesses, but the goal has always remained the same: equal opportunity for women."
The former Helen Wallbank, daughter of a Denver-area attorney, earned a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1945, and met William Grawn Milliken as he underwent military training in Colorado during World War II. After marrying, they settled in his Michigan hometown of Traverse City, which also was home to the family-owned Milliken Department Store.
William Milliken was elected to the state Senate in 1960, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both Republican state senators. Shortly afterward, Milliken and other moderates rebelled against the right-wing leadership, issuing a manifesto with progressive stands on issues such as taxes and civil rights.
Elected lieutenant governor in 1964 and 1968, Milliken succeeded fellow Republican George Romney as governor in January 1969 when Romney joined President Richard Nixon's Cabinet. Milliken won the election that fall and was re-elected twice, but decided not to seek a fourth term in 1982. He retired from politics unbeaten at age 59.
His wife, however, wasn't done with politics. Helen Milliken continued to be a sought-after political commodity long after her husband's retirement. In 1994, she was even asked to be the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Howard Wolpe as he sought to boost his underdog campaign against Republican Gov. John Engler.
She declined, later telling the AP "it just didn't seem like the right move to make at the time."
Milliken is survived by her husband and her son, William Jr.
Associated Press writers David Runk in Detroit and John Flesher in Traverse City contributed to this report.


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High Test Rankings Mask Underlying Problems
Chinese students made international headlines this week when Shanghai high school kids outscored their counterparts on PISA, an international standardized test. China came out on top and the U.S. was buried somewhere in the middle -- but it was no surprise to education experts or even to people familiar with China's progress as a global presence.
"The entire system is geared toward that one goal -- taking [a] test," said Yasheng Huang, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It would be the equivalent of American students spending four or five years preparing for the GRE or SAT, he said. So when it comes to exams, Chinese students are stellar performers. But when it comes to other barometers of success, they fall short.
"In terms of imaginative talking, coming up with good ideas, taking risks, those are actually very weak," said Huang.
Such weaknesses are closely linked to an education system that effectively shortchanges Chinese students.
"When you spend all your time as a student at school going after high scores, you lose opportunity to develop anything else," said Yong Zhao, an education professor at Michigan State University.
Zhao said the Chinese system spends too much time focused on instruction, and not enough on education. Instruction, he explained, is imparting knowledge. Education is something entirely different.
"It's a long-term process of developing human beings, and well-rounded human beings who are curious, passionate and creative," said Zhao.
From a very young age, China breeds a test-oriented educational environment.
In junior high, they write the zhongkao -- "middle test" -- to get placed in a good high school.
In high school, the stakes are higher with the gaokao -- "high test."
The final prize is entrance to a coveted college, which could lead to a leg up in the competitive job market, which could lead to a well-paid job, which in turn could lead to a happy and prosperous life. Failure or low scores on the test send many students back to high school for one more year of gaokao preparation.
The two- to three-day exam is nothing short of an obsession for parents. And it's nothing short of miserable for students.
"I scare my children," Zhao said. "I tell them if they don't take the trash out I'll send them to China to take the gaokao."
Jokes aside, many Chinese parents are sending their children in the opposite direction. The Institute of International Education found that the number of Chinese students coming to the U.S for undergraduate studies increased by more than 50 percent last year.
Peggy Blumenthal, executive vice president of the Institute of International Education, believes the possibility for a better educational experience lures such students away from China's education system.
"If you are spending all your time drilling what the answers are for your test, does that prepare you for the kind of innovative self-reliant, challenge-the-status-quo kind of thinking that is rewarded at the college level ... in the United States?" asked Blumenthal.
Beyond the classroom, the obsession with test-taking leaves many Chinese graduates ill-prepared for the job market. A McKinsey study found that 44 percent of executives in Chinese companies reported that insufficient talent limited their global ambitions. Multinationals also find the labor pool lacking.
Meanwhile, Chinese colleges graduated nearly 6 million students in 2008.
After chasing test scores for their entire lives, graduates of China's education system face another grim reality: According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the average college graduate earns just 300 yuan -- roughly $45 -- more than average migrant worker.
As reported in the Beijing Times, the study found that monthly salaries for college graduates have been at a plateau of about 1,500 yuan since 2003. Meanwhile, wages for migrant workers rose from an average of 700 yuan to 1,200 yuan over roughly the same period.
China Scoring High on Tests Was Big News 20 Years Ago
Still, there are some experts who maintain that, while flawed, the Chinese education system has its strengths.
Shijing Xu, an education professor with the University of Windsor in Toronto studying the interaction between schools in China and Canada, said Chinese students get a better foundation in all subject areas at a young age.
Specialized subject teachers -- one for math, one for science, one for language, and so on -- are present from the very beginning in Chinese schools.
In the U.S., most public schools have one teacher that teaches all subjects until grades three or four. Xu, like all the experts ABC News spoke with, said that the advantage in U.S. is that they encourage and foster creativity and initiative.
"If we really can combine the two together, we really would provide a better education for children on both ideas," said Xu.
Change in China, Xu added, will not come overnight. With a population of 1.3 billion, it is difficult to develop a fair system that is not centered on standardized tests.
Yasheng Huang of M.I.T. said news that China came out on top in PISA is a far cry from a "Sputnik" moment, as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called it.
Duncan's label made Huang think of another news maker out of China. When China sent its first
astronaut into space in 2003, it prompted Jay Leno to joke that this would be big news ... if it was 1962.
The same, said Huang, holds true for Chinese students outperforming international students on the standardized PISA test.
"Yes, this would be big news for China," Huang said, "if it were 1981."


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BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Rick Heltebrake says he instantly recognized the man who carjacked his truck as Christopher Dorner and says the man was calm and didn't want to hurt him.
Heltebrake says he was on a road near Big Bear Lake yesterday when Dorner emerged from a grove of trees holding a large, assault-style rifle. Dorner was clad in camouflage from head to toe and wearing a bulletproof vest packed with ammunition.
As teams of officers closed in on the ex-Los Angeles police officer, Dorner pointed the gun at Heltebrake and ordered him out of his truck.
Heltebrake recalls Dorner saying, "I don't want to hurt you. Start walking and take your dog."
Dorner then got into the truck and drove off. Heltebrake, with his 3-year-old Dalmatian in tow, called police when he heard a volley of gunfire erupt soon after.
A short time later, police had caught up with the man they believed was Dorner, surrounding a cabin he had taken refuge in after taking Heltebrake's truck. It burned to the ground. Coroners are examining remains believed to be Dorner's.
A day after the carjacking, Heltebrake recalls Dorner as not wild-eyed, but almost professional. He says Dorner was "on a mission."


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Executives from Google and Apple defended their mobile privacy policies at a Congressional hearing Tuesday as Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) called attention to recent reports that iPhones androids and other devices secretly collected user data and locations without permission.
Under current federal law, Franken said, creators of mobile phones are often "free to disclose your location information and other sensitive information to almost anyone they please without letting you know."
Legislators on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law said that without sufficient privacy measures, mobile devices carry the genuine potential for security breaches, like the recent attacks on Sony and Epsilon, or criminal activity such as stalking. However, panel members also assured the testifying officials that their mission was not to end location-based services, but to create strong consumer protections as mobile technology continues to evolve.
"No one up here wants to stop Apple and Google from producing their products or doing the incredible things that you do," Franken said as he opened the meeting, called Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy. "What today is about is trying to find a balance between all of those wonderful benefits and the public's right to privacy."
After coming under scrutiny in recent weeks from consumers and legislators over its privacy policy, Apple denied that its handset tracks locations of iPhone and iPad users without permission and, instead, relies on "a database of WiFi hotspots and cell towers around your current location … to help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested."
Guy "Bud" Tribble, Apple's vice president of software technology, told the subcommittee that Apple does not share user information with third parties without permission and is "deeply committed to the privacy of all of our customers." Tribble also said that Apple has never tracked location data "and has no plans to ever do so."
"The PR hit that Apple took from that is really telling," said Rebecca Jenschke, media relations director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The backlash showed that "people really do care about their privacy … you have this tracking beacon in your pocket and you don't really know what it does. These are a lot of people that you're trusting with really sensitive data."
Similarly, Google responded to criticism over its privacy measures by pointing out that all location sharing on Android devices is "opt-in by the user … Any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is anonymized and not tied or traceable to a specific user."
Alan Davidson, Google's director of public policy for the Americas, told the subcommittee that the opt-in selections are "in plain language" and can be turned off in the future. Davidson described Google's approach to location services as "highly transparent information for users about what is being collected, opt-in choice before the location information is collected and high security standards to anonymize and protect information."
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) said the relationship between mobile operators and third-party app makers is a "wild West," as the ever-changing technological landscape makes it difficult for legislators to create laws that protect consumers without stifling innovation. At least four bills attempting to navigate mobile and online privacy were introduced during this legislative session, but none have come to the forefront as being likely to pass.
Ashkan Soltani, an independent security researcher, said the best way to tackle mobile privacy was to increase transparency and create more specific guidelines for terms like "opt-in," "third parties" and even "location."
"If you imagine a historical trail of your whereabouts over the course of many days, it would be reasonably easier to deduce where you work, where you live and where you play," Soltani said. "In many cases the location that this data refers to is the location of your device or somewhere near it … I would consider that my location."
Franken ended the meeting on an open note. "As I said at the beginning of this hearing, I think that people have a right to know who is getting their information and a right to decide how that information is shared and used. After having heard today's testimony, I have serious doubts that those rights are being respected in law or in practice," Franken said. "We need to seriously think about how to address this problem. And we need to address this problem now."


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Ultimate GirlsSynopsisKoharuno Silk, Ohtori Vivian, and Moroboshi Tsubomi are three 17 year-old high school girls who live in modern day Japan. Occasionally monsters attack, but UFO Man always fight against them and wins, even though the monsters aren't even that big of a deal (no one gets hurt, and no buildings ever get knocked down or anything). Still, though, he protects it, until one day he accidentally squishes our female leads! He later revives them, but it costs him much of his power, and the only way he can fight now is to allow Silk, Vivian, and Tsubomi to transform into 30m giantesses (or "Ultimate Girls", as the title suggests) invested with his powers. However, they must hurry, as they have a time limit to attack, and only one of them can transform at a time. Will Silk's crush, monster-obsessed Makoto, ever find out that she's a super heroine? Will Silk's older sister, a news reporter, also find out that her identity? Will Silk and her friends be able to stop the monsters? Will the moe bug ever stop spreading? ReviewWell, here I am, over two and a half years later, re-visiting this lame excuse for an Ultraman "homage", and for what? Well, a full review, for one. Ultimate Girls was m.o.e.'s last anime series before the company went under. Instead of going out with a bang, though, they went out screaming and kicking like little babies. Ultimate Girls tries in such a desperate attempt to be funny that it fails to even be a guilty pleasure for lovers of moe and fan service. It's fine if you like laughing at innuendo and phallic imagery, but I already saw my fill of that in Puni Puni Poemy, and m.o.e.'s writing staff pushed out anime that typically made that, and Nabeshin's other works, look downright intelligent and philosophical by comparison. Where does the fun begin? The moe character designs, for one. They're not quite as bad as recent anime in terms of underage looks, but if you told me for a second Tsubomi is supposed to be 17, I wouldn't believe you. Even worse than that is the girls' behavior themselves. Silk is an annoying crybaby, Vivian the older-sister lesbian (what?), and Tsubomi the loli cosplayer. In short, nothing new or interesting here. In fact, UFO Man is probably the series' high point character-wise (and be voiced by veteran seiyuu Tohru Furuya, they throw in plenty of references to his earlier anime roles), but at the same time he's also responsible for all the disgusting innuendo that cements this series. Speaking of which, remember when Ultraman started to strip when he fought monsters in ANY installment of the series? Me neither. The girls have a very small time window to attack in their "Ultimate" forms, and during this they actually strip naked. Due to television standards they never get completely naked, but it's uncomfortable all the same (and pointless). Even worse, the monsters they fight are some of the stupidest / creepiest Monster-of-the-Day fights I've seen in anime since Sailor Moon Super S, with a recurring "joke" being that most of the monsters must be defeated by pulling on (or off) something that vaguely resembles the human wang. This crap that wouldn't be funny in Crayon Shin-chan, much less here (oddly enough, an episode of Shin-chan did feature a parody of Ultimate Girls in one episode. Weird). Sound stupid and/or disgusting? It is. I can't really describe it any other way, in all honesty. All the monsters also make really creepy sounds, just to add to the yuck factor. And then there's the supporting cast. I didn't mind Tsubomi's older brother, Makoto (who, unlike his sister, looks like a teenager), or even Silk's news reporter sister, but the latter's anchorman annoys me to no end. I mean, you can tell he's such a deep and wonderful character by the way he calls each girl by their bust size in their giant-sized forms ("Ultimate Girl Loli", "Ultimate Girl Breast", etc.). Fun character that man is. Eventually they cut down on the phallic imagery and innuendo (if not for a little while), but by then it's too late, too late: the show's pretty much over. By the time the series tries to become serious with its material it's practically finished. And while the ending didn't leave me feel cheated (like, say, Air), there wasn't anything for me to get upset about prior to finishing up this anime. It sucked from beginning to end, and although it improved a little in the middle, it still was far below acceptable in terms of writing. In fact, the only thing Ultimate Girls doesn't fail miserably is in the art and animation department, inconsistent character designs aside (as well as inconsistent heights when the girls battle in their giant forms). The opening song is pretty, but the actual in-series music is lame and forgettable, as is the weak voice acting and annoying sound effects. Most bad anime at least have decent music, but not Ultimate Girls. Unless you can stomach the content of this series and are a gigantic fan of the concept of a gender reversed Ultraman who slowly gets naked as she fights, stay far, far away from this series. The series that took out m.o.e. for good, something even Love Love couldn't do. Stay away! — Tim Jones Recommended Audience: There's a LOT of underage fan service in this series, and by "fan service", I mean 95% naked girls. The monsters the girls fight all bring us some sort of sick phallic imagery, and in one of the earlier episodes, one of the girls has to pull off a monster's "stethoscope" to defeat it! This is a dirty, dirty show. Don't let young children watch it! Version(s) Viewed: digital source/webcast non-subtitled Review Status: Full (12/12) Ultimate Girls © 2005 m.o.e. / Studio Matrix |
© 1996-2015 THEM Anime Reviews. All rights reserved. |


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Trade Policy & Analysis (TP&A) publishes a variety of data series and reports for both public and government use. Use the links below to navigate directly to data relating to a specific topic.
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Amid controversy over Google's decision to strip H.264 support from its Chrome browser, a Google official has acknowledged H.264 is more popular than the WebM video codec, but said restrictive licensing will ultimately doom H.264.
Microsoft and Google traded barbs over HTML5 video standards, with Microsoft supporting H.264 in Internet Explorer 9, while Mozilla, Opera, Adobe and Google push the new WebM. A long standards battle could result, and Google admits it has some work to do.
BACKSTORY: The 10 bloodiest battles Microsoft and Google fought in 2010
"We acknowledge that H.264 has broader support in the publisher, developer, and hardware community today (though support across the ecosystem for WebM is growing rapidly)," Google Product Manager Mike Jazayeri wrote Friday in the Chromium blog.
However, Jazayeri predicted that licensing fees would stifle innovation and lead to H.264's downfall. Although H.264 has greater support today, "There will not be agreement to make it the baseline in the HTML video standard due to its licensing requirements," Jazayeri writes. "To use and distribute H.264, browser and OS vendors, hardware manufacturers, and publishers who charge for content must pay significant royalties — with no guarantee the fees won't increase in the future. To companies like Google, the license fees may not be material, but to the next great video startup and those in emerging markets these fees stifle innovation."
The H.264 license agreement can be found at the Web site of MPEG LA, which administers patent-licensing programs. According to the site, H.264 patent holders include Apple, Cisco, HP, LG, Microsoft, Polycom, Sony, Toshiba and many other companies.
Although Google has said it will remove H.264 support from Chrome, Jazayeri said few users will notice a difference, at least for now.
"H.264 plays an important role in video and the vast majority of the H.264 videos on the web today are viewed in plug-ins such as Flash and Silverlight," he writes. "These plug-ins are and will continue to be supported in Chrome. Our announcement was only related to the video tag, which is part of the emerging HTML platform. While the HTML video platform offers great promise, few sites use it today and therefore few users will be immediately impacted by this change."
Google's move away from H.264 has fueled some concerns about the company holding too much sway over the future of Web video, a concern Jazayeri addresses by answering the question, "Isn't this just an effort by Google to control the Web video format?" Jazayeri notes that "the majority of organizations and individuals contributing to WebM won't be affiliated with Google or any single entity," and that third-party developers "have already created high-quality alternative (yet compatible) implementations of WebM."
Jazayeri acknowledges the current situation isn't perfect, given that publishers have to create multiple copies of videos to satisfy the needs of different browsers. "Bottom line, we are at an impasse in the evolution of HTML video," he writes. "Having no baseline codec in the HTML specification is far from ideal."
Follow Jon Brodkin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jbrodkin
Read more about software in Network World's Software section.


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Hafizmen Dumpster Rentals
Cleaner Tulsa, Greener Tomorrow: Hafizmen's Promise.
Hafizmen Dumpster Rentals is Tulsa's Premier Waste Solution Provider
Hafizmen Dumpster Rentals, located in the heart Tulsa is your one-stop solution for all waste disposal needs. We pride ourselves on offering top-tier, affordable dumpster rental services tailored for both residents and businesses in Tulsa and its surrounding regions.
Our offerings span a broad spectrum - from compact waste bins perfect for small home renovations to large roll-off containers designed for substantial commercial projects. But our services aren't just about providing a dumpster; it's about providing an eco-conscious solution. Tulsa is a city that's increasingly focused on sustainability. We've integrated cutting-edge recycling services to ensure that a significant part of the waste we collect doesn't end up in landfills.
Quality service is the cornerstone of our brand. We've designed flexible plans to meet the diverse needs of Tulsa residents. We are the most popular choice for dumpster rental in Tulsa because of our prompt delivery, easy pick-up, and competitive pricing.
Moreover, navigating the ins and outs of waste management can be daunting. That's why the Hafizmen Dumpster Rentals team is always on standby, ready to guide you. We can help you with everything from selecting the right size dumpster to understanding Tulsa's disposal regulations.
In essence, Hafizmen Dumpster Rentals is more than just a rental service; it's a commitment to a cleaner, greener Tulsa. Partner with us and experience a seamless, environmentally-responsible waste management process tailored just for you.
Hafizmen Dumpster Rentals is where Tulsa waste meets eco-friendly, efficient solutions.
Tulsa () is the second-most populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and is the 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa metropolitan area, a region with 1,023,988 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Tulsa County, the most densely populated county in Oklahoma, with urban development extending into Osage, Rogers and Wagoner counties.Tulsa was settled between 1828 and 1836 by the Lochapoka Band of Creek Native American tribe and most of Tulsa is still part of the territory of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.Historically, a robust energy sector fueled Tulsa's economy; however, today the city has diversified and leading sectors include finance, aviation, telecommunications and technology. Two institutions of higher education within the city have sports teams at the NCAA Division I level: Oral Roberts University and the University of Tulsa.
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New Online: The American Museum of Natural History Officially Unveils Darwin Manuscripts Project and DARBASE
From the American Museum of Natural History:
In celebration of Darwin Day, the American Museum of Natural History is officially unveiling the first phase of the Darwin Manuscripts Project—the most comprehensive catalog of Charles Darwin's scientific manuscripts ever compiled. The project is an ambitious online tool that traces the intellectual development of the famed naturalist and his groundbreaking theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin Day is commemorated annually around the world on February 12—Darwin's birthday.
The database at the project's core—DARBASE (Darwin Union Manuscripts Catalogue)—includes some 45,000 Darwin documents, including writing from Darwin's time aboard the HMS Beagle, early drafts of On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection and the Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, as well as his notebooks and botanical books.
Developed in close collaboration with Cambridge University Library, whose physical collection is the foundation of the new database, and the Biodiversity Heritage Library, represented by the Natural History Museum in London, this new tool will also include holdings from all other library-based Darwin collections globally. Already, the database includes 15,125 high-resolution digital images of the original manuscript pages with annotated transcriptions. In addition, more than 7,400 manuscript pages have been transcribed and are presented in an accessible format.
Particularly innovative are the notes featured on many of the manuscript pages, which make Darwin's writing accessible to casual readers and scholars alike. For example, scholars can see a transcription of Darwin's famous first attempt, in 1842, to sketch out an essay about evolution that eventually became On the Origin of Species. It is possible to follow every crossed-out line, every edited sentence, and every transposed block of text, in essence looking over Darwin's shoulder as he composed his revolutionary first draft of evolutionary history. Alternatively, the site allows more casual readers to view the complete transcription without edits or annotations. This functionality offers clear, highly-readable manuscripts without sacrificing drafts that represent important stages in the preparation of published texts.
In addition to drafts of his most important and well-known works, the Darwin Manuscripts Project goes beyond previous resources by including:
- Previously unpublished manuscripts, including an "Experiment Book" begun by Darwin in 1856 that details his original scholarship on plant breeding strategies; and
- Documents that served Darwin as reference tools for his science, such as his pocket diary, an invaluable source for dating Darwin's intellectual development.
The Darwin Manuscripts Project organizes the naturalist's writings into six thematic groupings that cover the full content of Darwin's work as a creative experimenter in the sciences: The Beagle Record, Geological Papers, Creation of the Origin, Evolutionary Botany, Generation Papers, and Man & Emotion.
The Manuscripts Project is also fully integrated with Charles Darwin's Library, a comprehensive and complementary initiative to present Darwin-as-reader and digitize all of the volumes in his personal scientific library. A collaborative effort with Cambridge University Library, the Natural History Museum of London, and the Biodiversity Heritage Library, the Charles Darwin Library already includes more than half of Darwin's books, most of which contain extensive marginalia and research notes and comprise the intellectual bedrock of his scientific work.
The Darwin Manuscripts Project is funded by two grants from the National Science Foundation, while the Darwin Library Project is jointly sponsored by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and National Endowment for the Humanities through a Transatlantic Digitization Collaboration Grant.
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Digital Preservation, Funding, Journal Articles, Libraries, News
About Gary Price
Gary Price (email@example.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.


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Before I begin, I would like to introduce myself. I am the eldest of DocSconz's oft-mentioned sons, and have learned to harbor a great appreciation for good food as a result of my upbringing. At school in Hanover, New Hampshire, my options are often limited, particularly for a student with a small budget. The occasional meal at Carpenter & Main (briefly mentioned here: http://docsconz.typepad.com/docsconz_the_blog/2009/04/index.html) serves as a welcome respite from the repetitive dining halls and ill-equipped kitchens, but its prices prevent more than the occasional visit.
My boring diet was one reason why I decided to apply for one of Dartmouth's vaunted Foreign Study Programs, the Geography study abroad in Prague. Although the ability to experience traditional Czech cuisine was appealing, I was more excited by the opportunity it would present me to do some traveling and dining before classes began. I first met Chef René Redzepi at a cocktail reception during the 2008 Star Chefs Conference in New York, where my father introduced him to me as one of the best chefs in the world. At the time, I was just learning that a revolutionary culinary scene was emerging in Scandinavia, but I still had some difficulty accepting that such a thing could occur in the region that counts lutefisk among its most popular dishes. Still, my curiosity was piqued, so when I made my plans for my pre-study travel, I made sure to reserve a table at noma for my travel-buddy Austin and I. My dad, unable to travel to Copenhagen on such short notice, would live vicariously through me.
As it turned out, my travel schedule permitted me only that one night in Copenhagen, so in effect Austin and I were traveling there exclusively to dine at noma. I'm glad we made the trip. Although some deception by Google Maps caused us to take a while to actually find the restaurant, we managed to allow ourselves enough time to arrive early. noma is beautifully situated at the far corner of the North Atlantic House, a site dedicated to the preservation of North Atlantic culture. Its other two sides are surrounded by harbor, making for a wonderful view of downtown as twilight sets in.
When we entered, we found that we were among the only diners there, but others soon began to fill in the empty tables. One thing that I noticed over the course of the night was that noma would only fill a table once a night. I think that this approach makes sense, especially in the context of a restaurant that focuses on tasting menus. It would simply be a mistake to rush dishes from the kitchen and people out the door to make room for new customers – like any great restaurant, Chef Redzepi and the staff at noma recognize that good pacing is key to a good meal, and as it turns out, the pacing was flawless. Austin and I were brought a new morsel of food almost every twenty minutes, giving us ample time to savor our new course, but not enough time for us to grow restless while waiting for more.
At this point, I would like to offer my apologies for the lack of gastro-photography – we had a camera, but it was merely a point-and-shoot. Its photographs do not do justice to the beauty of each dish.
As we got comfortable at the table, the friendly and knowledgeable sommelier asked us if we would like anything to drink before we got started. Austin and I were baffled – should we go for the homemade fruit or vegetable juices, or maybe a flute of champagne? We ended up with neither. I hate to reinforce the stereotype of the beer-drinking student, but Austin and I couldn't help but opt for the fresh, home-recipe Pilsner-style beer from noma's own brewery outside of the city. The beer was served in a wine glass, and were it not for the foam head I could have mistaken it for a glass of white. Upon reflection, the flavors of the beer foreshadowed the style of the meal that we were about to enjoy – it was crisp, refreshing, and pleasantly aromatic.
While I am on the topic of drinks, I suppose now would be a good time to briefly delve into our pairing dilemma. While I would have liked to opt for the full pairing to go with the twelve-course tasting menu, our budgets forced us to restrain ourselves a bit, so I asked the sommelier if he might be able to set up some pairings so that we could come as close to experiencing the best of the tasting menu as possible, while not breaking the bank. I have to commend the man because he did a marvelous job, almost on the fly. The seafood-heavy menu called for a majority of whites throughout, with the exception of a red to pair with two turf courses toward the end. Surprisingly, one of my favorite pairings was a glass of exceptionally flavorful carrot juice, which was served with two earthy dishes in the middle of the meal.
It has now come time to get to the main event, the food. Our meal began with a series of seven "snacks", which lived up to their name quite well. These were not included on the tasting menu, but it appeared as though other tables were getting a similar treatment. The concept behind noma's snacks is that they are bite-size pieces that stand on their own, and that the diner is supposed to eat with his hands. Some of our favorite tastes were served as snacks, and Austin and I reached a consensus that the pickled and smoked quail egg was our favorite snack of the bunch. It was served without its shell and prepared so that the white functioned as the solid outer section and the yolk exploded into an incredibly rich and buttery sensation as I popped it in my mouth. To reference my childhood, it felt like a tiny Jell-O Easter Egg in my hand, and it blew up like a Gusher fruit-snack as I bit down on it.
The other snacks were all phenomenal, but none of them stood out from the rest like the quail egg did. In addition to the egg, we were treated to snacks like a Speck-flavored cookie on top of an elderberry one, home-grown radishes served in a pot, with edible malt soil and yogurt, and a veritable garden placed on top of home-baked crisps. Along with the snacks, we were served some of the crustiest yet tender bread that I've ever eaten. It was made with special Danish wheat, and had a nice, hearty flavor. We were given rendered pork fat with bacon salt and some rich butter to spread. It's not surprising that they take their bread seriously. Unfortunately, time has taken my memory of some of the other snacks and their ingredients, though if I think hard enough I can still taste them.
Although the snacks were delicious, they were not substantial. With impeccable timing, the noma staff brought us the first course of the "real" menu just as Austin and I devoured the rest of the bread. Entitled "Razor Clam and Parsley, Dill and Mussel Juice", the dish highlighted each of its ingredients in different ways. The clam was served raw, encased in a parsley gel with yogurt powder lined up next to it. In the bowl was a small pool of mussel juice, with dill oil forming little droplets in the juice. The eating got messy, but the clam was supremely tender – this course was a phenomenal start to the meal, and its clean flavors refreshed the palate nicely. It set the stage for the plates to come.
Next up was the "Beetroots and Sorrel, with Malt Flat Bread." It served as an earthy contrast to the fresh, almost green-tasting plate that we were served before. The texture was also a nice contrast to the fresh clam.
Upon tasting the following dish, I was able to tell almost immediately that it would be my favorite of the night, although I wouldn't have known it by looking at the menu. Unlike my father, I've never been a huge fan of uni – despite trying it multiple times, there's usually something about the texture that bugs me. So when the "Sea Urchin and Grilled Cucumber, Dill and Cream" was served, the brilliant green and yellow-orange hues were appealing, but the knowledge of what was on the plate was not. That all changed once I took my first bite; the sweetness and crunch of the grilled cucumber was married with the rich uni flavor, while reducing the intensity of its texture. The dill complemented this almost-perfect union quite nicely, and the cream served to enhance the smooth flavor of the entire course. I was absolutely wowed by this course, in a way that was not quite replicated again through the meal. The following courses were fantastic, but I think the dish's refusal to play to my expectations enhanced my experience two-fold.
Indeed, the cucumber and uni dish is a tough act to follow, which may be why the "Chestnuts and Bleak Roe, Walnuts and Cress Shoots" was one of my least favorite dishes. Keep in mind that this is all relative, but the water chestnuts seemed to dominate the course and it came off as rather bland in comparison to the previous dish. Perhaps contrast was the point, but it was not so memorable as some other plates I enjoyed.
Following the chestnut dish was one of the most fun dishes Austin and I enjoyed, the "Langoustine and Söl, Parsley and Seawater". In its preparation, the langoustine was placed clean on a scorching-hot rock, so when it was brought out only one side had been cooked. It was up to us to roll it over and dip it in the spots of parsley flavor that dotted the remaining landscape of the rock, thereby cooking and flavoring it further. This dish was quite unforgettable, and the memory of the experience has preserved the flavor in my head for later enjoyment.
The "Salsify and Truffle from Gotland, Milk Skin and Rape Seed Oil" was an interesting addition to the lineup. The menu had previously been following a pattern of alternating seafood and earthy dishes, and this plate did not disrupt it. The salsify did a better job of contrasting the langoustine than the chestnuts did for the sea urchin, so I think that lead to my greater enjoyment of this dish – it felt very clean in the mouth, and the texture of the milk skin was quite unlike anything I've consumed before. It complemented the texture of salsify and the sauce, making for a very delicious and texturally interesting combination.
The next dish, "Vintage Potato and Whey, Lovage and Prästost" disrupted the aforementioned pattern, but it was delectable all the same. The tiny potatoes were bursting with pure, unpretentious potato flavor, and the greens and cream in the dish worked well to elicit a feeling of eating straight from the farm. I could taste the care that went into growing and preparing this dish, so that it made it my favorite earth-based dish till now.
At this point, we began to enter into the heart of the menu, signaled by the arrival of "King Crab and Mussels, Leeks and Ashes". This, too, married disparate elements and was served with minimalism in mind - it was served as two pairs of rolls, alternating on the plate, surrounded by mussel foam and flakes. One roll was leek rolled in ash, and the other a piece of king crab. It looked and tasted simple, but the flavors were clear. I consider crab to be my favorite crustacean, so the elementary presentation and flavor only enhanced experience. Although the implementation of ash was surprising, its perfect execution was not, and it made what would have otherwise been a good dish great.
After the crab came the "Pickled Vegetables and Bone Marrow, Herbs and Bouillon," which I think was my favorite rustic dish. I'm not sure Austin knew what to expect with the bone marrow, but after scooping marrow straight from the bone at the Boston tapas bar, Toro (discussed here: http://docsconz.typepad.com/docsconz_the_blog/2009/05/toro-tasty-tapas-in-boston.html), I knew that I was in for a treat. The acidity of the pickled vegetables foiled the creamy marrow quite nicely, and altogether made for an incredibly delicious package. It was simultaneously rich and acidic, and to be honest, just writing about it is making my mouth water.
The peak of the tasting menu manifested itself in the form of "Ox Cheek and Endive, Pickled Pear and Verbena". Its presentation was hardly so minimal as that of the crab and leek. The ox and endive was distributed around the plate in small pieces, each piece topped with a thin sheet of pickled pear and a verbena leaf. It was a fantastic end to the savory portion of the meal. The cheek was phenomenally tender, and the endive had a slight crispness to it. The pickled pear complemented the richness of the ox very well, and the endive served as a neutral balance between the two. Despite its powerful flavors, this dish managed to strike a wonderful balance.
The dessert portions began with a full-on carrot dish, the "Carrots, Buttermilk and Anis". Slices of differently prepared carrots, some pickled, some roasted, were arranged around a central globe of buttermilk, which in turn housed carrot ice cream. A bite of all three preparations together with the buttermilk set off an explosion on my taste buds, as the sublime sweetness of the ice cream set itself against the creamy-yet-sour buttermilk, while the pickled and roasted carrots each added hints of their respective preparations to the mix. Aside from carrot cake, I've never had a carrot dessert, nor do I expect to desire one again – I am perfectly content with remembering this dish as a substitute.
Afterwards came "The Snowman from Jukkasjärvi, Cloudberries and Wild Thyme." The snowman was composed of three separate flavors – his head was a small scoop of ice cream, his torso was cloudberry sorbet, and his bottom portion was a large piece of sour meringue. He was placed on a "snow-covered" plate, which was actually cloudberry jam with more of the yogurt powder from the mussel dish. Taken altogether, the dish was at once sweet, sour and savory – much like the dish before, except with a fruity tang. Indeed, both dishes carried with them obvious connotations of the North – the buttermilk orb looked like a snowball, and the Snowman was set in a winter wonderland. It was the fruity tang, then, that made all the difference.
Our second to last course was actually a savory one, and illustrates a case in which the defiance of expectations does not necessarily have a better outcome. Austin and I were expecting another complex and sweet dessert, and although what we got was complex, it was rather far from sweet. The "Jerusalem Artichoke and Marjoram, Apple and Malt" seemed to be pretty heavily dominated by the artichoke's flavor, which was a bit of a disappointment to us. I do not mean to say that it was a poor choice to put it on the dessert portion; in fact, it made me think more about my expectations for what a tasting menu should be, and what I expect it to be. It was almost a clever trick, and I appreciate the ingenuity that both the chef and staff had in placing that savory dish where they did in the menu. Overall, it enhanced the experience, although I did not appreciate it as much at the time.
The final course of ours is a traditional Danish breakfast, if my memory serves correctly. Called "'Øllebrød' and Frothed Milk, Skyr and Toasted Rye Kernels", the variety of textures and flavors led to a sweet end to an experience that I will savor forever. The Øllebrød was a sweet, warm, oatmeal textured component to the meal, which was complemented by a slightly acidic ice cream. The rye kernels lent a nice crunch and toasty flavor to the dish, which added some more complexity to what turned out to be my favorite dessert. Eating this as the final course really reinforced the authenticity of the meal, and sealed the legitimacy of Scandinavian cuisine into my frame of mind.
To sum up the meal, it is clear to me that chef Redzepi had a lot of fun playing with contrasting flavors, both within dishes and among them. It seems to me that he deliberately ordered the menu to emphasize the contrasts between rich and light, and it seems that he has a fondness for sweet-and-sour flavors. I can't fault him for that, as I do, too. As it is any time one goes out for dinner, the service is an important part of the experience; good service can make a forgettable meal memorable, and lazy service can make excellent food taste rotten. The service at noma was impeccable. It seemed as though a different staff member served us every new dish, and each one of them was eager to tell me about what I was going to eat, and how to eat it. The staff's knowledge, congeniality and genuine enthusiasm served to make my night at noma even better than I could have imagined. They even managed to fit us into the small kitchen for an informative tour, too.
Although I dined at and thoroughly enjoyed my meal at el Bulli about four years ago, I savored it under my parents' careful gaze. At noma, a (perhaps false) sense of independence pervaded my stay, which magnified my entire experience – I suppose you could regard this as a coming-of-age tale. Now, instead of learning how to identify and appreciate complex flavors, I was consulted on wine and courses, and chef Redzepi even left me a note apologizing for his absence.
As for Austin, he had never been to an avant garde restaurant before. Now he can say he's been to the best restaurant in the world. Based on my experience there, I can say that it is truly deserving of the title. Simply put, my adventure at noma was an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I strongly advise you to make the trek. You will not regret it.


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You may be lucky enough to be sniffle-free so far, but cold and flu season is upon us. Just over 2 percent of Americans have had the flu so far this season and nearly 7 percent have caught a cold. Those are pretty typical numbers for October, according to Gallup. And although they might seem small, it's still early: More like 8 to 10 percent of people will be sniffling come December and January.
Some extra-diligent handwashing and sufficient shut-eye can go a long way in keeping you healthy all season long, but an immunity-boosting diet is not to be ignored. Start the morning off right with these tasty cold- and flu-fighting breakfasts.
Fruit Salad
Vitamin C may not be the all-powerful cold-repeller it was once thought to be, but it's still a nutrient essential to staying healthy. Citrus fruits are famous for their C, but fruits like papaya and kiwi pack even more of the crucial vitamin. You can't go wrong with a bowl of these. Consider tossing in some cantaloupe, too.
Sunny-Side Up Eggs
It's easy to skimp on the sunshine vitamin once the days start getting shorter, but if you're low on vitamin D, now's the time to bulk back up. There's some evidence to show that getting enough D this time of year can both reduce your risk of catching a cold and speed up recovery if you're already sniffling, Men's Health reported.The benefits are biggest in people who were lacking to begin with, Time reported. Eat some D for breakfast with sunny-side up eggs. One large egg yolk contains 37 IUs of vitamin D, about 6 percent of your daily recommended intake.
Yogurt With Wheat-Germ
It's time to buy into the hype about zinc. Using it to your advantage can shorten a standard cold by around a day and a half, Reuters reported. While lozenges and nasal sprays abound, it's surprisingly plentiful in a number of food sources, including wheat germ, one of the richest vegetarian sources of the mineral. Just one ounce packs more than 3 milligrams of zinc, nearly a quarter of your daily recommended intake. The nutty, slightly sweet flavor makes it a perfect yogurt topping.
Salmon Toast
Salmon is another great choice for anyone looking to up their vitamin D. Add some smoked salmon to a slice or two of whole-grain toast with cheese. Some people argue that dairy products only aggravate congestion, but they may not bother everyone, Ilyse Schapiro, R.D., C.D.N. told HuffPost last year. Plus, cheese adds some protein, which powers your body to make more cold-destroying white blood cells.
Red-Pepper Omelet
Fruit isn't the only good source of vitamin C. A cup of chopped red bell pepper contains 190 milligrams of the stuff, more than twice as much as an orange. They're also rich in vitamin A, which aids the growth of mucosal cells, the first line of defense against bacteria trying to invade, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Pumpkin Seed Granola
An ounce of these crunchy bites contains nearly 3 milligrams of zinc, almost 20 percent of your daily recommended intake. Try 'em in a batch of homemade granola, or toss them into yogurt or oatmeal.
Top It Off With Tea
Mimic the warm, comforting feeling of soup with a hot mug of tea. Upping your liquid intake in general can help thin mucus and a little steam is sure to bust congestion. Opt for a green variety and you'll have the added benefits of more concentrated antioxidants, in particular EGCG, which seems to fight off viruses by increasing the number of "regulatory T cells" in the body, a marker of stronger immune system functioning.
- huffingtonpost.com


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At this point in his career — after the string of injuries that plagued him for now a season and a half — it seems difficult, if not downright impossible, to explain Carl Pavano. Of course, many Yankees fans try to explain it with a common New York phrase: "He's a bum!" Given the way events have unfolded, it's tough to disagree. From the shoulder tendonitis that mysteriously lasted half a season to his buttocks injury in Spring Training 2006 to the car accident debacle on the eve of his supposed return, Pavano has proven to be an enigma in New York.
Some say he can't handle the pressure of New York, a la Kenny Rogers. Actually, most say that. The rest are left in awe as he continues to somehow stay off the field. Even with his supposedly intense winter workout regimen, it's tough to find even slim hope that Pavano will be worth a fraction of his four-year, $39.95 million deal.
Even if he does stay healthy, ask many critics, can he be effective? It's not like Pavano was a superstar when he signed with the Yankees. Rather, he was a pitcher who had shown flashes of very-goodness earlier in his career and who, in his prime, came through with a stellar walk year. So when he came to the Yankees and alternately stunk up the joint and pitched decently, it came as no surprise; we've all seen that story before.
When I heard Pavano was secluding himself in Arizona to work out this winter, I warmed to him a little. When I heard he was seeing the same sports psychologist that treated Scott Proctor prior to the 2006 season, I warmed some more. Maybe, just maybe he can help this team.
Crazy, right?
Maybe, maybe not. It really depends on his mental state. If he's in as good a shape as he and his trainers let on, and if he's dedicated to pitching in New York, he can be an asset. If he's just half-assing it to put up a front, well, we have a problem. Unfortunately, we cannot measure someone's mental state, so that question is difficult, especially at this point in the spring, to answer.
What we do have are trusty statistics to help us begin to figure out Pavano.
The easiest difference to notice between Pavano's 2004 and his 2005, beyond the injury, is his 1.77-point spike in his ERA. However, since we know plenty of factors, some of which are out of the pitcher's control, compose a pitcher's ERA, we need to dig a bit deeper and find out why his ERA spiked.
First and foremost, batting average on balls in play (BABIP) was a major factor. There have been studies showing that pitchers have little to no control over balls put in play, so a spike or decline in BABIP can be largely attributed to luck. A .280 mark is about average. For context, Shawn Chacon posted a .240 BABIP in New York 2005, which positively affected his 2.84 ERA. Earlier in the year, in Colorado, he posted a much more normal .283 BABIP, leading to a 4.08 ERA. In 2004, Carl Pavano posted a .287 BABIP, an average mark, which led to his 3.00 ERA. In 2005, that number shot up to .333. Surely, the increasing of an occurrence over which a pitcher has little or no control contributed in some way to his 4.77 ERA.
We now move to the traditional peripherals to evaluate pitchers: strikeouts per nine, walks per nine, homers per nine, and groundball to flyball ratio. Here's where things get strange: his strikeouts per nine declined, but so did his walks per nine. In fact, his walks per nine decreased at a greater rate, as evidenced by the rise in his strikeouts to walk ratio (2.84 in 2004, 3.11 in 2005). Though, the lesser walk rate can be correlated in some way to the rise in BABIP.
I'll revisit the strikeout rate in just a moment. For now, let's look at Pavano's gopher ball rate. A normal 0.64 per nine innings in 2004, it more than doubled to 1.53 in 2005. Usually, this is due to an increase in the pitcher's flyball rate. Of course, Pavano being Pavano, this is not the case. His groundball rate actually increased in 2005, going from 1.43 to 1.60. So what gives?
In my view, there are two factors playing here. First is Pavano's focus. A rise in BABIP isn't always attributable to bad luck. As Randy Johnson proved in his New York tenure, sometimes it's because you get slapped around. That can be, though not necessarily, linked to a lack of focus. This seems at least a little probable, given Pavano's transfer from the mostly empty Dolphin Stadium to the media circus in New York.
The second factor is his elbow. As we know, doctors found bone chips in his elbow in May of 2006. Bone chips can linger undetected for quite some time, so who knows when they initially appeared. I have always thought that, given the circumstances, it would seem in some way logical that the chips appeared in Spring Training 2005. That would help explain his raised home run rate and lowered strikeout rate. It would also explain his seemingly out of the blue shoulder tendonitis in June, 2005, as well as his ensuing rash of injuries (i.e., he was adjusting his motion to compensate for the discomfort in his elbow).
Of course, this theory is shot if the bone chips appeared in the spring of 2006. Then we're back to a combination of luck and his mental state as the causes of his woes, both of which we cannot measure. Such is life with Carl Pavano.
Will he rebound in 2007? There's absolutely no telling until April at the earliest. Even a stellar spring doesn't mean much. He's got to get out there and prove he can do it in games that count. What we do know is that if he returns his peripherals to 2004 form, we'll get at least a No. 4 starter out of Pavano. However, none of that can be determined until April. We wait with bated breath.
See also: Mike's draft preview, college edition.


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OCEAN CITY – Due to the holidays, the Mayor and Council enjoyed some time off this week but worked out a number of items last week. The following items were discussed:
Pension Policy Amendment
An unscheduled agenda item was brought up having to do with amending town employee pension policies that were written in 2004. Human Resources Director Wayne Evans explained that there were two ordinances on the table. One addressed each of the two pension plans, public safety and general employees.
"What we had determined has to do with the methodology that is used to calculate sick leave credits, an add-on to the pension benefit," he said. "At the time someone retires, if they have accrued sick leave credits during the course of their career, this formula was used to apply additional pension dollars to their monthly pension benefits."
Evans said that it was discovered that the formula was written incorrectly, and that the credit was intended to be 2 percent, not 3.33 percent.
"That has two impacts," Evans said. "One is that it effects the calculations of the pension benefits, and the second impact is that it affects the evaluation of the pension plan and the contribution that the town is required to make."
He added that there have been six participants whose benefits were calculated at the higher level but they have been made aware of the over payment.
"We recommend that just stays as it is and it be recalculated moving forward," Mayor/Acting City Manager Rick Meehan said.
The next ordinance on the table needed to be changed from having two pension formulas included to just one because the way it was worded it allows for both formulas to added together in order to come up with the formula. This mistake has not been applied to any pensions as of yet.
"Those formulas only applied to people who retired under a 1996 pension plan, we just want to go ahead and clean that document up while we have it here, and it's not really going to affect anybody," Evans said.
Both ordinances were voted unanimously to be amended, as well as passed as emergency ordinances.
Toys For Tots Month
Mayor Rick Meehan read a proclamation designating the month of December as Toys for Tots Month.
According to the proclamation, the Marine Corps League, First State Detachment, works in Ocean City and Worcester County with dedication and effectiveness to preserve the traditions and interests of the United States Marine Corps. The First State Detachment has a mission of providing good cheer and well-being to local needy children during the holiday season through its Toys for Tots program.
The Toys for Tots program has assured that more than 4,000 children in the area had a toy during this season that they would not have had if not for the efforts of the First State Detachment, Marine Corps League, and the generosity of citizens.
Vehicle Purchases Approved
Public Works Director Hal Adkins came requested the order of three pickup trucks, one 12-passenger van and a two wheel drive SUV for a total estimated expenditure of $125,000.
Adkins explained that fortunately the Equipment Trust Fund currently has adequate funding to purchase the vehicles because while budgeting for 2012 a local match was provided to purchase six transit buses, which are $420,000 each, plus come other grant related items. The MTA only approved three transit buses leaving about $111,000 in the trust fund plus an additional $16,000 in funding through savings totaling a little over $128,000.
The council voted unanimously to approve the request to order the necessary vehicles.
Easier Sale Of Surplus
The council also voted unanimously to approve an ordinance on second reading to authorize the sale of surplus personal property as determined by the city manager and approved by resolution.
The ordinance states, "upon determination by a department head and the city manager that items of personal property have been abandoned, are surplus, or otherwise no longer necessary for public use, the city manager shall prepare an itemized list of such property to the city council for final determination. If the City Council determines the property surplus, than it may be by resolution authorize the sale of such personal property."
The council chose to allow the sale of surplus to be approved by resolution so that the time period to make a sale will be shortened by eliminating the first and second reading of the ordinance process.
"What this will do is allow us to continue … what our departments have done successfully with selling property as it becomes available instead of waiting for one or two times a year [auctions], and using a website [govdeals.com] that has brought great returns in a limited time, so this is a great management tool for our departments," Meehan said.


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Jason Campbell's nomadic journey through the landscape of the 21st century NFL continues.
Free-Agent Tracker
Follow all the developments on the NFL's open market with our up-to-the-minute tracking of 2014's free agents. **More ...**
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that Campbell has reached an agreement on a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, according to a source who has spoken to the player.
The move reunites the veteran quarterback with Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, Campbell's former head coach with the Oakland Raiders.
Campbell spent last season with the Cleveland Browns, making eight starts (1-7) and finished with 11 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 2,015 passing yards and a 76.9 passer rating. Before Cleveland, Campbell spent time with the Chicago Bears (2012), Raiders (2010 to 2011) and Washington Redskins (2005 to 2009).
Campbell found success under Jackson in Oakland, posting a passer rating above 84.0 in both seasons and leading the Raiders to a 11-7 mark in his starts. A broken collarbone sustained midway through the 2011 season led to Jackson's fateful decision to acquire Carson Palmer in a trade from the Bengals.
Campbell is one of the league's better backup options and will certainly give coach Marvin Lewis a solid and non-threatening option behind Andy Dalton.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" breaks down DeSean Jackson trade rumors and tries to figure out who will be next year's Michael Bennett (or Brent Grimes).